Virtue In The Wasteland Podcast

How to end well. How to end at the right time, and how to keep moving forward even when the grass might look greener on the other side. Kierkegaard, White Sox baseball, Lost, X-Files, Leonard Cohen

Trump, Sanders, Clinton, populism, the media, journalism, and how it all went wrong. Can it be made right? What caused this mess? Is there any earthly hope for American democracy?

Wai shares his story and the story of violence in Sudan. He has worked with Sudanese refugees who live in San Diego. sudaneseamericanyouthcenter.org  

Women in conservative Christian communities. Santa Ostapowich is in charge of the Higher Things Conferences (higherthings.org).

Jeff interviews Dan about his upcoming book: Monsters.   

Spoken word artist Emily Joy joins us for a discussion of the ways in which poetry might change our world and help us gain empathy for those whose voices are sometimes silenced or ignored. We chat about Nashville weather, growing up in the evangelical world, adolescent sexuality, and the experiences of women in Christian communities. Our guest doesn't mince words or pull punches, so expect a lively conversation. Check her work out at emilyjoypoetry.com, or buy her albums on Bandcamp or iTunes. 

This year, we are trying out yet another Lenten challenge: reading poetry or listening to it read instead of watching t.v. or playing background music. On this show, we discuss the ways in which poetry can inspire the imagination and also create silence and space for reflection and insight. We talk a bit about psychologist Paul "Stormy" Fairweather, lots about T. S. Eliot, especially his poems "The Hollow Men" and "Ash Wednesday". We also chat a bit about the Superbowl and Jeff's Broncos. Jeff read a list of global poetry, recommended by our colleague Adam Lee. Here's that list, since Jeff had a hard time with the pronunciations:Ten poets I'd want to spend 40 Days ReadingTomas Tranströmer (Sweden)Wislawa Szymborska (Poland)Ko Eun (South Korea)Czeslaw Milosz (Czech)Anna Akhmatova (Soviet Russia)Fernando Pessoa (Portugal)Derek Walcott (Trinidad)Octavio Paz (Mexico)Anne Carson (Canada)Nikki Giovanni (USA) virtueinthewasteland.com 1517legacy.com

Why does every attempt at a perfect society always become such a drag? We discuss Jeff's run in with some KKK fellows, Zizek's book, Living in the End Times, the backstory to utopian literature, such as that of Thomas More, and some interesting examples of utopian societies.

Is there an ultimate sublime reality outside of our own opinions, emotions, and sentiments? We think so, but it isn't always easy to identify and like the good. Sometimes we are misguided intellectually, sometimes our hearts are in the right place. Such is life in the wasteland. The medicine is virtue.  We discuss: Dudes that Know (DTK), Zizek's Living in the End Times, C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man, aesthetics, virtue theory, Aristotle, the ethics of belief, ethical habituation, elitism, Yelp, and the democratization of cultural criticism online and through social media. 

Can we really study war no more? Or is war inevitable, a natural and irremovable aspect of our human nature? We don't come to a final answer, but we explore the tough elements of the question with Dr. Caleb Karges, who specializes in military history and war in the eighteenth century. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of St. Andrews. We also throw in a brief bit about the theories of Mark Juergensmeyer on cosmic violence, and René Girard on mimetic violence.

We share our reflections, review, and theories, regarding Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Joining us via Skype (sorry the audio gets weird once again because of connections) is Ted Giese, who writes thoughtful film reviews, when he isn't serving in his role as pastor (or maybe, that's part of the role). Spoilers abound, as you might expect from the title. The first half is Jeff and Dan, the second half is Jeff and Ted. Rev. Giese is associate pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Born in Edmonton, he grew up just outside the city in Stony Plain Alberta were he attended St. Matthew Lutheran Church and School. In his travels he has lived in Prince George, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from NSCAD in Halifax, a Masters of Theological Studies Degree (2000) and a Masters of Divinity Degree (2007) from Concordia Lutheran Seminary Edmonton. For eight years (1998 - 2006) he worked at Andy's Valleyview IGA in Edmonton, five of those years as a manager. From 2004 to 2

What stories really mattered in 2015? What can we expect in 2016 in culture and politics? 

What do we do when the euphoria of Christmas morning is past? We discuss the Persian holiday of Yalda, the future, a bit more about Christmas movies, and share stories about our family Christmases. 

The obligations of virtuous citizens, with respect to the Syrian refugee situation, Trump, Angela Merkel, journalism, and American self-imposed ignorance. Uwe is a lay theologian and internationally-renowned journalist.  Siemon-Netto was born in Leipzig, Germany, where his devoutly Lutheran grandmother was the pivotal figure in his childhood in World War II. He is the former religion editor of United Press International.  He began his journalism career 1956 as a trainee at Westfalenpost, a large regional newspaper in southern Westphalia. In 1958, he joined the Associated Press in Frankfurt first as copy editor, then as slot editor and roving reporter, covering, among other things, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. From 1962 to 1969, he worked as a correspondent for Springer Foreign News Service in London, Paris, New York, Vietnam, the Middle East and Hong Kong. His assignments included the United Nations, the U.S. civil rights movement, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam Wa

Expert in the history of Christian-Muslim relations, Dr. Francisco chats with us about the perplexing circumstances of our era.  How do we balance our love for neighbor with our concern for our neighbors' safety.  How do we juggle religious freedom and obvious threats from radicalized believers.  We discuss Trump, ISIS, ISIL, jihad, refugees, and radical Islam.

Many atheists and conservative Christians have one thing in common this Christmas season: they worry about whether they should tell their kids a benevolent but not exactly true tale about Santa Claus.  There are economic, mythic, religious, and cultural issues at play. We learn about the history and development of the Santa legend.

Twitter, public vitriol, shrill rhetoric, journalism, the history of political debate, postmodern thought, the linguistic turn, analytic philosophy and speech act theory.

Give thanks for even the things you think you resent. Hear how Jeff, Dan, the 1517 crew, and sports radio all interconnect.

The cultural, philosophical, and religious significance of Star Wars, as we anticipate the reboot in December.  virtueinthewasteland.com 1517legacy.com faithfulmasks.org thejaggedword.com

Are you a Chicken Little, always shouting about impending doom?  Are you an ostrich with your head in the sand, not attending to the threats on the horizon? What kind of bird are you? This week, Dan and Jeff reset after several shows about societal collapse and discuss various aspects--all in free-form--of the phenomenon of being right but not having any satisfaction once vindicated.  We mess about but have some fun.